The Office of Civil Defense said on Thursday morning that two people were killed and 18 injured in a landslide triggered by an earthquake in Magsaysay town, Davao del Sur province. Television network ABS-CBN reported two more deaths elsewhere, including a lady who was hit by a collapsed wall of a house.
The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said Wednesday’s 6.3-magnitude earthquake occurred 22 km southeast of Tulunan in North Cotabato province, at a comparatively shallow depth of 8 km. More than 200 aftershocks were recorded.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the quake as having a magnitude of 6.4 and a depth of 14 km. Shallow quakes are inclined to cause more damage than deeper ones.
OCD says a minimum of 27 people were injured within the Magsaysay landslide or by falling objects and collapsing concrete partitions.
Some areas lost power, including the Kidapawan city transportation hub. Immediately after the quake, a hearth broke out within the Gaisano shopping center in the town of General Santos, but there have been no reports of anyone trapped.
Vice President Joselito Pinol of M’lang town in North Cotabato said patients were evacuated from the hospital to make sure their safety through the quake. Several buildings were damaged, including Pinola’s office, where the glass facade collapsed.
Fake news causes panic amongst earthquake victims in Indonesia
Fake news causes panic amongst earthquake victims in Indonesia
Schools in earthquake-hit areas, including the president’s hometown of Davao, suspended classes on Thursday so buildings may very well be checked for damage. President Rodrigo Duterte was within the capital Manila when the earthquake occurred.
“We felt a very strong shock and there was a power outage. I saw people rushing down. We panicked and went to the exit,” said Naru Guarda Cabaddu, a hotel consultant visiting the town of Kidapawan between the earthquake epicenter and Davao.
The community on the foot of the mountain needed to evacuate as a consequence of greater than 200 aftershocks.
“I was returning home when I felt very strong tremors. I stopped and saw people and patients running out of the hospital,” said Raprap Rafael, a resident of Kidapawan City.
The Philippines is one of the disaster-prone countries, with frequent typhoons, earthquakes and volcanic activity. It lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” the arc of faults across the Pacific Ocean where many of the world’s seismic activity occurs.
In 1990, a 7.7-magnitude quake within the northern Philippines killed almost 2,000 people.
Additional reporting by Reuters
This article appeared within the print edition of the South China Morning Post as: Deadly earthquake hits southern provinces
